Always There
by Koala789
Summary: "In a flash of red and green, the ladybug and the black cat appeared. They fought bravely, never once giving up. And what's more, they laughed as they did it, as if these villains were nothing more than a silly child throwing a tantrum. Their laughter, their assurances, reached the people of Paris. Chat Noir and Ladybug would appear and save them. They always did, after all."


**A/N: Hello! Welcome to my first Miraculous fanfic! Also, um, sorry. This just kinda... happened... *awkwardly pats you on the head* Please review, and let me know what you think of it!**

 **WARNING: Character death**

 **Spoilers: Season 1**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned it, season 2 release wouldn't keep getting pushed back in the US... I'd give a date and stick with it... no I'm not bitter...**

* * *

They were always there.

It was hard to believe, at first. The idea that superheroes were no longer a fantasy from a comic book.

Just as hard to believe as the villains that destroyed their beautiful city. But the threat was real, and parents feared for their children, and children for their parents. The earth quaked, monsters roared, buildings crumbled — injuring and killing dozens, hundreds. The world had become a living Hell.

But in a flash of red and green, the ladybug and the black cat appeared. Ladybug and Chat Noir. They fought bravely, never once giving up. And what's more, they _laughed_ as they did it, as if these villains were nothing more than a silly child throwing a tantrum. Their laughter, their assurances, reached the people of Paris. It took years, but they did.

With every akumatized victim, Ladybug and Chat Noir saved them, and all they had hurt. It was as simple as the black-spotted heroine throwing an object to the sky, and crying two simple words. Buildings rebuilt themselves in an instant. Injuries vanished. _Lives_ were _restored_. It truly was miraculous.

At first, people still screamed. They still feared for their lives. They still ran for cover in the nearest building, be it the Louvre; a school; or a small, homey bakery beside the park that housed the sculptures of the city's heroes. But, slowly, a smile would reach their faces as the two heroes swooped in to save the day. Any damage that was dealt was repaired in an instant.

Eventually, people stopped hiding. They stood in the streets, cheering at their heroes, even as a blazing meteor seemingly fell from the sky towards them. They did not fear for their lives. No, Chat Noir and Ladybug would appear and save them. They always did, after all. And even if they did not, as had happened in the early days, Ladybug's Miraculous Cure would bring them back to life.

Even after that, the people of Paris began to follow their heroes along their journey against the latest villain, cheering them along the way. Some even had signs at the ready for the next akuma attack.

At first, the superhero duo smiled and waved as they leapt from building to building, fighting evil. Paris supported them, and that was a beautiful gift that they treasured.

Until a little child got caught in the crossfires, trying to get a better view. That child was frozen instantly, heart stopped. Eyes still wide with wonder as she gazed at her heroes.

Suddenly, two heroes were just two teenagers with a terrible burden thrust upon them. They were just children, and another child had died right before their eyes.

With a scream, Ladybug called upon her Lucky Charm, and Chat his Cataclysm, and they fought with renewed vigor. The villain was defeated, the Cure released. And the child brought back to life. Paris simply smiled without worry. Of course that child was never in danger, even when her heart stopped and lungs ceased. Even when her soul left her body. Because it was just another akuma, just another day, and just another life temporarily lost.

The difference was, Ladybug and Chat had _seen_ it.

Ladybug became less sure, but still determined to _never_ let that happen again. She didn't care how powerful her Cure was. A life was not something to treat so lightly. Chat's puns and jokes trickled, just about to a stop. Chat Noir was not his escape from the burdens of Adrien Agreste anymore. No, Chat Noir was burdened with the weight of Paris. A Paris that did not see his tears, his blood, his gasps of pain. A Paris that had forgotten the risk.

Over time, akumas increased, Hawkmoth more determined than ever. They appeared once a week, twice a week, once a day, _twice_ a day. Paris did not see the burden they abandoned on the shoulders of two children. They had always handled it before, why would this time be any different? They did not see the burden was upon a pair of eighteen-year olds, barely beyond their adolescence.

As akumas became more common, more frequent, more _powerful_ , another pair of eighteen-year olds slowly disappeared from their own lives.

No one was quite sure of what had happened to Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste. No, he's alive, I'm quite sure of that. No, I heard he went to Italy, or perhaps it was Sweden. Either way, he's not here now.

No one was quite sure of what had happened to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the promising fashion designer. Perhaps she was visiting her uncle in China for inspiration, or went to New York for a similar reason.

Either way, she's not here now.

Two people, barely out of their adolescence, ignored the advice of the Guardian, of their kwamis. Because they had no one else left but each other.

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng worried over their daughter, miserably wondering what they had done to push their child away so far that she did not even write to them from her unknown location.

Alya Césaire asked everywhere, searched everywhere, called everywhere, only to find herself staring at a long line of unanswered calls and messages to her best friend, spreading back a year. It was as if she'd vanished from the Earth.

Gabriel Agreste spent a lot of his time standing in a spacious room, furniture and knick-knacks gathering dust. He had not even touched the note taped to the enormous windows, afraid that the moment he did, it would become real. Though it was not shown on his face, he stared through those windows, wondering what he could have done to do better, to keep his son close. To keep him safe. Or perhaps he did it too much. He'd never noticed that the windows looked like bars, before.

Nino Lahiffe faked a smile as he rose to prominence as a DJ, one of his wildest dreams. But every time he looked at the crowd, it seemed like someone had punched him in the gut. He loved Alya, but what was that crowd without the dark hair of his first friend, or the blond head of his best friend?

It was as if he'd vanished from the Earth.

A dark-haired girl and a blond boy would swing back into their supposedly abandoned, shabby apartment every night after they defeated the newest akuma. Transformations were released, and they shakily collapsed into each other's arms, unabashedly crying. Tikki and Plagg floated quietly by, knowing that there was nothing they could do for their Chosens. They were so young, and had seen too much. Bloody nightmares were a common occurrence for the both of them. Smiles were rare, and only for each other. Because as difficult as it was, they kept going. It was in their nature, after all. Besides, they had the other as their own personal Miraculous Cure.

They would curl into each other at night, trying to forget it all.

Eventually, to Paris, they stopped following their heroes around. Because they weren't superheroes any longer. They were in the same spot as pest control. The pests came, they followed, and wiped them out. Simple as that.

Parisians simply groaned at the minor annoyance in the park, uprooting trees and throwing them about. Even when one crashed into the nearby bakery, collapsing upon the aging couple inside. No police, no firemen came to save them from their pain. Though the woman had died on impact, the husband was still alive, sobbing and in denial as he held his wife, the air slowly thinning until he too passed away.

Even after the Cure for that one, Marinette hadn't eaten or slept for two days, despite Adrien's efforts. He held her whenever she began to cry again. He always would. They were what kept each other going.

Soon, sleep became a vanity for the pair of nineteen-year olds, their nightmares following them even into the day.

* * *

Another akuma, another day. It was the afternoon, after all. Eyes rolled and people sighed, skirting around the bodies and rubble. They were late for work.

Teenagers pulled on their headphones, turning their music up loud to tune out the sounds of the dying, and the deep laughter echoing off the buildings.

Children complained about the shaking ground messing up their doll house.

Ravines tore through the ground, people falling inside. Lightning flashed, killing any on or near the Eiffel Tower. The banks of the Seine overflowed, people choking and drowning in its depths. Buildings crumbled and fires roared, people dying inside.

Death, Carnage, and Apocalypse laid waste to the city, chasing after the two twenty year olds desperately trying to lead them away from the innocent people. They were used to death by now, but they didn't need any more pain-filled cries, or lost souls on their conscience. They didn't need any more nightmares. They already had enough to last them lifetimes.

Finally, in the abandoned sector where their own shelter lied, Death crushed Ladybug's yo-yo, and Apocalypse snapped Chat Noir's staff. They were cornered, and there was nothing more they could do. A Lucky Charm had been tried and failed, and Chat Noir, in a desperate attempt he'd never before been driven to, used his Cataclysm on another living person. By some chance, he managed to touch two. Carnage and Apocalypse were dead, their bodies returned to the de-akumatized ones, reduced to shriveled husks, crumbling in the howling wind.

As Death closed in on them, Chat Noir reached out a clawed hand, gently cupping his Lady's face. Tears streamed from his feline green eyes. In desperation, his lips pressed against hers, and a red and black-spotted hand pressed against his, the other reaching into his blond hair.

"I love you," he sobbed. "I love you, Princess, my Marinette."

"I love you too, Adrien, mon Chaton," she returned. "To the end."

"To the end," he whispered, drawing her into his chest.

* * *

They were always there.

It was hard to believe, at first. The idea that superheroes were no longer a fantasy from a comic book.

Just as hard to believe as the villains that destroyed their beautiful city. But the threat was real, and parents died for their children, and children for their parents. The earth quaked, monsters roared, buildings crumbled — injuring and killing dozens, hundreds. The world had become a living Hell.

In a flash of red and green, the ladybug and the black cat disappeared. Ladybug and Chat Noir. They fought bravely, never once giving up.

As the end descended upon them, and Paris looked to their abandoned heroes, they could not find them. There was no longer laughs and masks to carry their ungrateful burdens. Instead, they saw two children, barely out of their adolescence. They found Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, lying in each others arms, in a pool of their own blood.

They were always there. Until the death.

Until the end.


End file.
